This post last updated on November 13th, 2021
The time has come for Americans to choose a new president once again. Some people are really charged up about it, as usual. But most of what I hear is how we have the poorest choices from both sides.
No political candidate can save America.
That seems like the most common opinion from those I’ve seen writing, posting, commenting or complaining about it. It’s as if many people don’t like the options but they know who they do not want as the next President.
And that’s pretty much where I’m at. I know what I don’t want.
3 Things I Do Know
Another common opinion I’ve seen is that if their candidate wins, though they could be unhappy with that choice, then the nation is rescued.
Miraculously.
Most people also seem convinced that if the “other side” wins, America is finished.
As if the survival or the death of our nation is somehow hinging on this election. I’m pretty sure I heard that in the last election. And several elections before that.
Yet, somehow, this election is very different from what I’ve experienced in my lifetime. I’m pretty certain you’ll agree with that.
I can’t say for sure, and no one can, as to whether either of these candidates will literally destroy America, but I am sure about 3 things:
- Neither candidate will save America
- Things will change
- God will still be God. Even if and when America is gone
Looking at an election through the lens of scripture brings perspective and clarity.
Your Candidate Cannot Save America
I see it every election cycle, and so do you. People rally, support, throw money at, and become near hysterical supporters of one man or one woman. Like this person is America’s last hope.
Honestly, I get it to a certain point. I’ve had my favorite candidates that I believed had the best intentions for holding public office. They’re usually the ones who get blown out early on.
But where are you putting your hope in election years? Is it in a candidate, or a party, or even in an issue? If I’m not careful, and I’m honest with you, I also tend to think, “If this person gets elected, then the sinking ship will be salvaged.”
Realistically, in any election year, my candidate or your candidate cannot save America.
Here’s what the prophet Isaiah says about rulers of nations. Including our candidates:
It is he who sits above the circle of the earth, and its inhabitants are like grasshoppers; who stretches out the heavens like a curtain, and spreads them like a tent to dwell in; who brings princes to nothing, and makes the rulers of the earth as emptiness.
Isaiah 40:22-23
Viewing our leaders and our elections through that lens of scripture brings better perspective. And it’s only God’s mercy and grace that can save a person or a nation:
Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD, the people whom he has chosen as his heritage!
Psalms 33:12
Don’t Wrong My Rights
Our culture is a demanding one. Probably even more so than any generation before ours.
I’m not saying it’s always wrong or a bad thing, but we have factions in society fighting for their rights from all sides of every aisle. People demand their rights and are willing to lose everything to have those rights no matter who gets hurt.
We even have the church constantly fighting against things that threaten their rights. When they aren’t on the sidelines silently watching, anyway. The problem here is that many Christians have placed the law ahead of the Lawgiver.
The truth is, as Christians surrendered to Christ we don’t really have rights because we’re no longer our own. Our rights have been nailed to a cross and we were purchased with a price (1 Corinthians 6:19-20).
The fight then is to know Jesus. And what did Jesus command? Love God, love your neighbor. No matter who they vote for or how they live.
Things Will Change
We better remember that command in the weeks, months, and years ahead because no matter the outcome of this election, things are going to change.
Do we really have a clear win for America in this? If Donald Trump, still the “outsider” to Washington politics wins, that has the potential to reshape future elections for better or worse. If the career politician from a deeply influential political family wins, Christian persecution will very well be accelerated. and religious liberty will be greatly diminished if not altogether lost.
Before you hang me out to dry for that statement, understand that it was Hillary Clinton herself who declared “deep-seated cultural codes, religious beliefs and structural biases have to be changed” during her 2016 presidential campaign. These Marxist ideologies haven’t simply vanished in the last 4 years.
The court cases waiting in the wings for a stacked liberal majority Supreme Court spell out exactly what her declaration will encompass:
- Things like requiring pro-life clinics to promote abortion, but not the other way around.
- And the California bill that would “officially label Christian colleges with Christian values, morality, and even dorm policies which conflict with the LGBTQ+ agenda as ‘discriminatory,’ and make the colleges liable to state (and federal) lawsuits.”
Let me again be very clear on this. Neither candidate will save America, but things are going to change after this election. And God will still be God afterwards.
God Will Still Be God
These are the times when I don’t want to forget that the nations are nothing more than a blip on the radar of time. God will still be God even after the election.
Isaiah chapter 40 says that in a much more impactful way:
The nations are like a drop in a bucket and are considered to be like dust on a scale.
Isaiah 40:15
Dust on a scale. Inconsequential. Blown off with a breath.
Scarcely are they planted, scarcely sown, scarcely has their stem taken root in the earth, when he blows on them, and they wither, and the tempest carries them off like stubble.
Isaiah 40:24
Is that where America is in the timeline of nations? I don’t know. Will this election be the breaking point of our country? I’m not alarmist enough to draw that conclusion, but I hope not.
My Hope
God corrects us with verses like those above but He doesn’t leave us there. He always leaves us with hope, and that’s where I’ll conclude:
Have you not known? Have you not heard? The LORD is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He does not faint or grow weary; his understanding is unsearchable. He gives power to the faint, and to him who has no might he increases strength.
Even youths shall faint and be weary, and young men shall fall exhausted; but they who wait for the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint.
Isaiah 40:28-31
Beautifull. Thank you Gene for reminding us of the truth and hope we have in Him.
Richard, thank you for your encouraging words! I have to remind myself many times every day where I find my hope. May we never lose sight of that!
Good stuff as always Gene. On one point in regards to the California bill on Christian Colleges. If they receive federal or state money, which is tax payer money, then don’t you think they should have to abide by the laws of the state and or the federal government in regards to discriminatory practices? If they don’t receive it then my opinion would be of you don’t like the rules don’t attend. You know the belief in Christianity is in direct opposition to the LGBT views. No reason to start an issue with an institution you don’t have to attend.
Hey Mike, I can kind of see where you’re at with that. If the state is funding a school, then the school has to abide by the state’s policy. But then the authors behind a bill like this are going to be the first ones shouting for separation of church and state, while continuing to try and legislate their brand of morality.
And they’re are not just targeting Christian schools receiving tax money. Why should the state have any say in someone’s belief and convictions? Because that’s what they’re doing here.
I totally agree with you that authentic Christianity and the LGBT agenda are in direct opposition. But it’s not the authentic Christians nor the Christian schools in this case that are starting an issue. It’s the politically liberal agenda to force everyone to accept their way or none at all.
I’ve said on more than one occasion that the most tolerant friend a member of the LGBT community will ever find is an authentic Christian. I believe that and times like these proves that over and over as I watch my gay friends explode with intolerance and hatred. It’s a saddening thing to watch.